Car-brake



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CAR BRAKE'.

Patented Aug.. 21, 1883.

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W. A. WILBE. I GAR BRAKE. No. 283,446, Patented Aug. 21, 1883.

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(No Model.)

W. A.'WILDE.

GAR BRAKE. l\T0.'283,44.- Patented Aug. 21, 1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM A. WILDE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINQIS.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 283,446, dated August 21, 1883.

Application mea May 25, less. (no moet.) l

To all w'hom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. YVILDE, a citizen of the United States, residing -at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Sta-te of Illinois, have invented kcertain new and useful Improvements in'Automatic Car-Brakes; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of these-me.

My invention relates to the class of automatic brakes in which the action upon the draw-bar in the forward. or backward movement of the train or fcar operates, through proper mechanism, to set or to release the brakes, as may be desired; and it consists in providing suitable A automatic mechanism in connection with a draw-bar, whereby the motion of any particular car and of the Vwhole train of cars shall be controlled at all times to correspond with the speed of the locomotive. The draw-bar is longitudinally movable within ra desired limit, and is connectedwith suitable mechanism, hereinafter accurately described, in such a manner that when a lcomotive begins to move and draw after it the tra-in of cars the draw-bar of jeach car isdrawn out, thereby releasing the brakes upon the wheels of those cars provided with my improvement; and when it is desired to stop a train or slacken its speed the brakes are set through the medium of a spring by the forcing in of the draw-bar, which takes place when the speed of the locomotive is slackened, owing to the inertia ofthe following` cars.

My invention consists, further, in providing a means for releasing the brakes by hand when it is desired to'back .a train of cars.I

Mechanism for this purpose is necessary, ow`` ing to the fact that the automatic sett-ing of my brake is ed'eeted by the forcing in of the draw-bar, as above described, Awhich incidentally takes place with'the operation of backing.

v vice attached to the bottom of a car, and having a part broken away to show the interior construction of a detail; Fig. ,3, a front elevation of the sliding plate, taken on the line 3 3 oi' Fig. 2, and viewed in the direction of the arrows, showing the method of its operation; Fig. 4i, a sectional view taken on the line fi 4 of Fig. 2, showing a rea-r elevation of the said plate and of a part of the mechanism by which it is raised and lowered; Fig. 5, a vertical section taken on the lines 5 5 of Figs. 2, 3, and a, and Fig. 6, a view in elevation of a detail.

A is the draw-bar, provided with the hole o, to receive the coupling-pin, and restingin the support B, which is bolted through each lat veral flanged to a floor-beam of the car. draw-bar-is an oblong box in form, and moves longitudinally within the Support B, made of suitable shape to receive it. It is closed at its rear end, where a hole, f, is formed to admit the rod C. 0n each side, near the rear end, the said draw-bar A is provided with openings made sufficiently large to permit easy acc ess to the nut s, or to any other suitable retaining means, which forms a shoulder within the draw-bar for the purpose of preventing its withdrawal when operated.

D is a metal plate of an invertedTform, 'having a vertical movement within guides fr, secured one on each side of the box E, which is bolted to the floor-timbers ot' the car, and within guides r, each of which is secured to the side of a door-beam. The said box E receives through the hole 1; the rear portionA of the rod C, which is screwed or otherwise securedat its rear extremity to the follower g, of dimensions sufficiently great, or nearly so, to iit snugly within the said box, and it contains alsoa helical or other suitable spring, F, which surrounds the saidlrod G, and is conthe follower. l This rod C is not formed of equal diameter throughout itswhole extent, but is reduced about one-halt' along a small portion of its length, forming a recess or neck, as shown at zc, somewhat longer than the distance between the extremity of the box E andV the outer surface of the plate D. The plate Dis provided with slots o a near its lower and with the slot m near its upper extremity.

ined between the forward end of thebox and 4 IOO distant from the two sides thereof, and i's made sufficient in diameter to receive the rod C where its proportions are greatest, but 1de! creases in size toward its upper extremity, Where it is only large enough to receive the neck w of the rod C.

To the side of the follower g is secured a ,Y Y

,sion when the chain L isdrawn forward. The rear end of the said chain 7c is secured to alelateral pin, G, which moves in a slot, y,4 in the side of the boXF. Secured to this pin G is a chain, Z,which passes forward around a pulley, H, supported in the bearings H, and back-- Award to the brake-lever I.

The operation of the` mechanism just described is as follows: Suppose the train to be at a standstill and the brakes set.` W'hen the locomotive moves, it pulls the draw-bar A out, and with it the rodC and follower in opposi.

tion to the spring F.l This action brings the neck of the said bar within the slot ol of e the plate D, causing the latter to drop by its own weight to find a support in the small end of the said slot upon the neck of the said rod C. This having taken place, the' rod C cannot recede while the plate remains in the position just described, owing to thefact that the forward shoulder, formed on the circumferby which the brakes are automatically set,

which takes place whenever, owing to the slackening of speed, the inertia .of the ears would cause their speed to be greater than that of the locomotive. y

Secured to each side of the rear end of the draw-bar A is a fiat bar or plate, K, beveled upward from its rear end. As the draw-bar is forced backward the beveled ends of theVA bars K enter the slots n in the plate D, .thus

serving as wedges to force the plate upward,

thereby releasing therod C and permitting the spring F .to expand and force back the follower with its .pin G, and thereby pulling taut the chain Z and setting the brakes.`

n As it frequently occurs that a trainhas to bev` backed, it is obvious that the automatic system v just described would offer a very serious obstacle against the moving of the cars, (since the brakes are set by the forcing yin of the draw-ban) unless some provision were made for releasing the brakes when it is desired to back; hence l have provided a releasing` mechanism to be operated by hand when it is desired to back, of which vthe following is a description. s

L is a brake-wheel on the top of the car'.- To its shaft is attached, in the usual manner, one end of a chain, k. At an intermediate point of the saidy chainwrthe latter is secured to a downward-projecting arm. hf, Fig; 4., of the transverse horizontal lever N. This lever N is supported within bearings formed on the upper sides of the floor-beams of the car. It

is provided with a downward and forward projecting finger, i, and is so placed in its bear ings as to cause the said finger to protrude through the slot m, formed near the top of the plate D, thereby holding the latter in suspenver of the second class, O, having its fulcrum Ywithin a slot in the projection g, extending from the side ofthe boxFr Near it's fulcrumed end,

and oppositethe center of the follower g, Iit is provided with a forward projecting lateral branch, f. Near its working yend*thesaidle- I'ver is supported and its, movement confinedl within a suitable support, e, secured to abeam, v

as shown. When it is desired vto lrelease the brakes .to permit the ybacking'of'.th'ecar, the l brake-wheel L is turned to wind. .the chain-k around its shaft, whereby the lever u, by means of the downward projection It, isturned partly around, thus causing the ngerpl within tl'ie j slot .m to lift the plate D .sufiicientlyto permitv the admission of the largestv circumference of,"v

the rod C within the slot o fini the said plate, e K.

the saidbar C being thus released from its; r'

shoulderfpressure by the liftingflof I the plate D and forced backby the actionf of thesprin f The portion of the chain between the lever O f and the arm 7Lv is less taut than thatbetween the arm h and the brake-wheel shaft.` This arrangement is to permit the lifting of the plate D and consequent release; of the rod C just described, rst, when, bystillufarther winding of they chain 7c around the said brakefwlieel shafts it acts upon the lever Oto force inward the follower g by pressure against it of thev ybranchj', thereby moving fthe pin G forward ,sufficient to release the4 brake shoes bythe loosening of thechain Z... The helical spring@ y, d, secured to the -lever O and to the transl verse` beam on the bottom ofthe car, is ,in-

tendedto co-operate with the spring F in forcn ing the lever O'back. From the foregoing d plicity of mydevice will readily be recognized; and it will be seen that it is infallible in its;

escription the sint operation and provides a thoroughly effective means of controlling the speed of the train. CertainV mechanical changes may be made in the various subordinate mechanisms, `bywhicll. the foregoingresults are-produced. So far as I am aware, the results themselves arenew, and my description is intended to include all mechanisms by which those resultsv may be. accomf plished, since the same would be merely me chanicalequivalents of those shown. Ifthe Vfollower were carried s o far back as to be be-` hind the brake-lever, thev pulley. or guide H.

would of course be dispensed with, since the chain would then act upon the lever in the proper direction without it.

What l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y l. In combination with the sliding drawbar of a railway-car, a chain-connecting the said draw-bar with the brake-lever, and arranged, as described, to draw the brake-lever` forward when the draw-bar is moved backward, whereby the pulling out of the said drawbar slackens the chain, and hence releases the brakes, and the forcing in of the said draw bar tightens the chain, thus setting the brakes, a springwhich is compressed by the pulling out of the said draw-bar, automatic mechanism for retaining the saiddraw-bar in place when it has been drawn out and automatic mechanism for releasing the said draw-bar when a backward pressure is exerted against it, thus permitting the brakes to be set by the recoil of the' spring, all substantially as described. o A

2. In combination with the sliding draw-bar of a railway-car, a rod, C, passing through the .rear end ofthe said draw-bar, and provided with a stop to prevent its withdrawal, and provided at its rear end withl a follower, a Spring surrounding the said rod and vconiined between the said follower, and asuitable xed stop on the bottom of the car, whereby the pulling out of the drawbar compresses the spring, automatic mechanism for securing and holding the said rod and follower against the reactive tendency of' the spring when dra-wn out through the medium of the draw-bar, a'

y chain connecting the follower and brake-lever,

and arranged, as described, to carry the brakelever forward when the follower is forced backward, and automatic mechanism operating to release the bar C with its follower when an inward pressure is exerted upon the draw-bar, whereby the spring forces back the said follower and sets the brakes, all substantially as described. w

3. In combination with the sliding drawbar of a railway-car, arod, C, passing through the rear end of the said draw-bar, and provided with a stop to prevent its withdrawal, and provided at its rea-r end with a follower, a spring surrounding the sai d bar and confined between the said follower and a suitable fixed stop on the bottom of the car, whereby the pulling out of the draw-bar compresses the spri ng, automatic mechanism for securing and holding the said bar and follower against the reactive tendency of the spring when drawn out through the medium of the draw-bar, a cha-in connected to the follower and passing forward around a suitable guide and back to the brake-lever, and automatic mechanism operating to release the rod C with its follower when an inward pressure is exerted upon the drawbar,`whereby the spring forces back the said follower and sets the brakes, mechanism operated by the brake-wheel and the brakes, said mechanism consisting of the draw-bar A, rod C, providedl with suitable means at its forward extremity' within the said draw-bar to prevent its withdrawal, and reduced in diameter along a small portion of its length to form a neck, plate D, provided with slots o and m, finger '1'. to protrude through theV slot m and support the plate D, said iinger projecting from a transverse horizontal lever, N, having a downward-projecting arm, h, box' E, secured tothe under side of the car, vi''ollower g upon the rod @within the said box, spring F, surrounding the rod G and confined between the follower g and the forward end of the said box, pin G, secured to the follower g, and movable within a slot, y, in the box E, and chain I, secured to the Vpin G, and passing around a guide, H, or other suitable device properly supported, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with the brake-lever of a car, the automatic mechanism for setting the brakes, said mechanism consisting ofthe drawbar A, rod C, provided with ,suitable means at its forward extremity within the said drawbar to prevent its withdrawal, and reduced in diameter along a small portion of its length to form a neck, bars or plates K, beveled upwardfrom their rear ends and projecting from the draw-bar A, plate D, provided with aslot, o, to receive the rod C, a slot, m., to receive the linger i, and slots a to receive the bars or plates K, lever N, having a projecting finger, i,

and adownward projecting arm, h, box E, sc-r oured to the under side of the car, follower g upon the rod C within the said box, spring F,

surrounding the rod C and confined between IOO IIO

supported, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

` 6. In combination with the brake-lever of i2@ g and the forward extremity of the box E,v

lever O, having J511e forward-proj eetinlg,` lateral braneh f to force the follower g inward, chain 7c, secured to the brake-wheel shaft at one end,y

to the downward-projeeting arm of the lever N at an intermediate point, and to the eXtremity of the lever O at its rear end7 pin G, se-

seeured to the follower q and moving in a slot, y, in the box E, and chain Z, secured to the 

